Apparatus for desulfurizing and sintering ores.



A. s. DWIGHT & R. L. LLOYD.

APPARATUS POR DBSULFURIZING AND SINTERIN G OBBS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1907.

Patented Mar. 23, 1909.

1. www?? wh/wana 6p wm. 9M? Mw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR S. DWIGHT, Ol" JOLIET, ILLINOIS, AND RICHARD L. LLOYD, OF CANANE, MEXICO, ASSIGNORS TO FRED BENNITT. TRUSTEE, OF JOLIET, ILLINOIS APPARATUS FOR DESULFURIZING AND SINTERING ORES.

Specification o Letters Patent.

Patented March 23, 1909.

Orlnal application led July 30, 1906, Serial No. 328,387. Divided and this application led July 23, 1907.

Serial No. 385,097.

y To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, ARTHUR S. Dwronr and RICHARD L. LLOYD, citizens of the *United States, residing, respectively, at

more particularly to apparatus for desul-l furizing and sintering ores and concentrates, and its objects are to produce apparatus by wlnch such materials may be cheaply and y ellicaciously operated upon, and to render possible a continuous treatment of the materials, as distinguished from intermittent operations, the raw ores being fed int-o one end of the apparatus, the sinter being taken from the other end, and the products driven olf being taken away at an intermediate point.

The invention has further for its object to make it possible to recover as by-products materials or substances which have heretofore usually been passed 0E in a gaseous condition and lost, or recovered only by the use of complicated and expensive processes and ap aratus.

The invention contemplates the treatment of the ore during the desulfurizing and v sintering processes, with a current of air or other suitable gaseous fluid passing freely through the mass, the direction given to the current being such that the materials or substances driven off by the heat of combustion shall be carried thereby away from the advancing -zone of combustion rather than through the intense heat found at that point so that certain by-products can be more easily recovered.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View ofan apparatus embodying our mvent1on. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of two of the sections or pallets employed 1n the apparatus for supporting and carrying material while being treated. Fi 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1. Fig.

- 4 is a side view of the apparatus.

ln the accompanying drawings, A represents the furnace or inclosing structure. It consists of a longitudinal and preferably horizontally -arranged box-like or tubular structure constructed of suitable refractory material. One of its ends a is preferably left open, this being the delivery end. At. the other end there is arranged a feeding device, preferably a reciprocating feeding device. This feeding devlce may be of any suitable character. The form We have indicated consists of a plunger B, operated by a screw-shaft- C provided at its end with a handleo.

At a there is a feedv opening through which the raw material can be passed into the furnace. At some point intermediate the feed opening a and the delivery endo of the furnace, the bottom of the furnace is provided with a grate or perforated portion D that opens into a` suction-box E, with which connects the exhaust pipe F, leading to a fan K.

The material being treated is supported while in the furnace by a'carrier that advances it gradually from the feed to the discharge end of the furnace. The carrier is preferably of sectional form or construction such as indicated in Fig. 2, where G represents a pallet having a perforated bottom g and side walls g, the top and ends being left open. The sections (1r are arranged to be placed end to end and to constitute a grate or carrier of indefinite length accordingly as many or few are used. ,It will be understood by reference to the drawings that the pallets are removed as they reach the end of the furnace and are successively placed in the furnace at the feed end, where they are filled with material to be treated. The bottom of the carrier being perforated permits a free assage of air or other gases or vapors throng 1 the material from the upper part of the furnace into the suction-box, the draft being induced by a suitable exhaust mechanism, connected with the pipe F.

Il indicates a block that may be interposed between the pusher-head B and the first of the pallets at the head or feed end of the furnace.

I indicates a shelf constituting in effect a continuation of the bottom of the furnace beyond the rear end a. thereof. Upon thls shelf the sintered mass of material passes, whence it may be removed, the pallets being separated therefrom and returned to the head end of the furnace for repeated use.

The carrier constitutes a sectional or articulated grate or screen, upon which the material being treated is supported while within the furnace. A -1 VThe method of operating the apparatus may now be described. The apparatus is particularly adapted for the treatment of tine concentrates of such ores as iron, copper, lead and those of the precious metals, particularly when such ores bear sulfur.- In our apparatus and according to our process itis possible to treat very finely subdivided ores without serious loss throughdust. We ordi- `narily mix about 15 per cent. of crushed vapor or gases until the process has been carried forward far enough for the sintering operation to take place. Ve do not, however, limit ourselves to this particular mixture forthe furnace charge, as we sometimes replace the crushed sinter by calcined concentrates or fine flue dust from the blast furnace. Probably also lime could be mixed with the ore or concentrates and satisfactory results obtained. rlhe material to be treated in the furnace, whatever its particular com position, is charged through the opening a and fillsrthe pallets G, which'are under or opposite to the feed opening. As the carrier is filled it is gradually fed forward by the feeding mechanism with which the furnace lis provided. The charge is ignited from the top, at about thepoint where there is provided an opening in the furnace for the admission 'of air or steam or other gas or vapor which may be employed in the blast. rl`he charge may be ignited by placing burning coals upon the top of the-mass or by an oil or gas ame. After the charge has been ignited combustion can usually be maintained and the heat necessary to conduct the sintering process may usually be derived from the chemical reactions which take place in the materials themselves. It may, however, be maintained from extraneous sources if found necessary. It will be observed that the combustion begins in the upper portion of the charge and advances downward toward th'e grate D. This favors the recovery of certain by-products, such as sulfur, either metallic lead, as well as other substances.

valuable as by-products. These substances which are set free in a molten, subllmated or vaporous condition'are carried away from the zone of combustion and intense heat and are not subject to oxidation, as in the processes now in vogue, and are therefore many of them easily recovered as unoxidized materials. By the time the material has been advanced beyond the grate D practically all the substances that pass offin a molten or gaseous condition have been separated and the mass has become sintered and in proper condition for further treatment in the blast furnace. This sint-eredmass being porous is quite rapidly cooled by the atmospheric air which passes through it toward the suctionboxE, so that by the time it reachesfthe shelf l it is in condition to be easily handled. lt is here broken up and removed by suitable carriers for further treatment.

It will be understood that the forni of carrier which we have illustrated, constitutingy a perforated sectional grate upon which the material rests while in the furnace, while possessing many practical advantages is but one of a type of carriers. We therefore do not wish to be restricted in the application and use of our invention to the particular form of apparatus which we have chosen for the purpose of illustrating our invention. And, again, we note that while we have herein shown an. apparatus having what may be termed a feed opening and a discharge opening, and have used those terms lin .our description thereof, we do notl re- 4rstrict the invention 1n this respect. The socalled feed-opening and the so-called discharge opening Acan be regarded as, places or regions where, first the ore is fed or supplied; and second, where the cakes or masses of sintered ore are withdrawn or discharged; and it is in that sense the said terms of description are used. And so in respect Vto the terni furnace which is selected for convenience; ^it is not intended to restrict the invention to an inclosed or approximately inclosed chamber such as is generally found in structures denominated furnaces. it is to be understood as describing a structure where a mass of ore is temporarily supported in such way as to be suitably related to a supply place orV feed region and a discharge region, the

transported from the first of these places to the second and under such circumstances as to permit the application of drafts of air or gases, in the Way and for the purposes above described, during the said period of transportation from one to the other.

The apparatus We have described comprises means for supporting a mass of fine ore material containing combustible ingredients in such condition that the particles of the mass are quiescent in relation to each other while the internal combustion in the ore mass is taking place, thus facilitating and permitting the sintering of the entire mass of ore being treated. It also comprises means for advancing the ore mass as a body, without agitation of the particles thereof, While the internal combustion is going on: and means for causing the air or other gaseous fluid that is employed to maintain such combustion to pass through the mass While itis in bodily motion.

- We do not herein claim the method or process of treating ore to desulfurize and sinter it described in this specification as We have made such method or process the sub# ject of our application No. 328,267, filed July 30, 1906, of which this case is a division.

What We claim is-d 1. A furnace or apparatus for roasting and sintering ore by internal combustion Within a mass thereof, having a feed openin at one end, a discharge opening at the ot er end means between them fortransl porting a body'of ore in a quiescent mass, an

o ening through which air or gas is supp ied at a point intermediate the said ends of the furnace, and a means for taking the products of combustion through the ore mass and arranged on the side of the furnace opposite the draft opening, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a furnace or apparatus for sintering ore by internal combustion, having a feed opening and a discharge opening, of a perforated screen or grate upon which the material is supported, means for moving the said screen or grate and the material supported thereon through the furnace, and means for causing the passage of the products of combustion and a current of air or gases through the material and through the said perforated screen or grate, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a furnace or apparatus for sintering ore by internal combustiorr within a mass thereof, having a feed openin and a discharge opening, of a perforatec screen or grate upon which the material is supported while in the furnace,

.means for moving the screen 'or grate through the furnace, and means for. causing a draft to be passed through the material being treated and thereafter through said screen or grate, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of a furnace or apparatus for sintering ore by internal combustion, and having a feed opening, a discharge opening, and having also a portion of its bott-om perforated, a conduit for collecting and carrying away the materials driven off from the ore during its treatment in the furnace, means for advancing the mass of ore through the furnace and across the said perforated bottom thereof, and mea-ns for causing the products of combustion to pass through the ore mass and causing currents of air or gas to pass through the ore mass from above, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of means for supporting a mass of fine ore material containing combustible constituents with the particles of the mass quiescent in relation to each other, means for advancing the said ore mass as a body Without agitation of the particles, and means for causing currents of combustionmaintaining gaseous fluid to pass through the mass While in bodily motion for' supporting internal combustion therein and causing the products of combustion to pass through the ore mass, substantially as set forth.

6. An apparatus for sintering ore in a fine condition, having at one place a feed region, and at another place a discharge region, means for supporting a mass of ore at points between the said feed region and discharge region, the ore having restraining devices to iold its particles quiescent which lie at the surface Where gases escape, means for moving the ore-supporting means from the feed region toward the discharge region, and means for causing currents of air to pass through the ore mass toward the said restraining devices at the surface Where the .gases escape, substantially as set forth.

7. In an. apparatus for sintering fine ore containing combustible constituents, by internal combustion Within a mass thereof, having a region Where the ore is fed and at another place a region where the sintered ore is discharged, a movable ore-holder adapted to receive a mass of ore to be treated at the place of feed and to hold it While internal combustion is taking place therein so that a sintered cake or mass of the ore will be formed, and having a pervious bottom to allow free circulation through the ore mass to permit internal combustion therein, and means for directing the movements of the ore-holder from the place of feed to that of discharge.

8. In an apparatusI for sintering fine ore containing combustible constituents, by internal combustion within a mass thereof, having a region where the ore is fed, a region Where sintering and roasting takes place, and a region Where the ore is discharged after being sintered, a series -of movable ore-holders adapted to successively pass from the feed region through the roasting and sintering region and to the discharge region ofthe apparatus, each holder being adapted to receive a mass of ore and hold it until it is formed into a sinteied cake or mass, and each holder having a pervious bottom to allow free circulation through the ore mass supported thereby to permit internal combustion therein, and means for directing the movements of the ore-holders, as set forth.

9. In an apparatus for sintering line ore by internal combustion vwithin a mass thereof, having a region where the ore is fed, a region where sintering and roasting' takes place,v and a region where the ore is discharged after being sintered7 a series of movable ore-holders adapted to successively pass the feed region through the roasting and sintering region and to the discharge region of the apparatus, and each holder being adapted to receivea relatively thin or.

said region of roasting and sintering to cause internal combustion therein,l and means for directing the movements of the ore-holders, as set forth.

ln testimony whereof we affix our signatures, in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR S. DWIGHT. RICHARD L. LLOYD. Witnesses:

EMMA AGUSTA SCHLEICHER, GRACE ELIZABETH SEYMOUR. 

